Here are the reasons I’m glad my mom didn’t abort me

Feb 04, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
On Friday, January 25, 2017, pro-life advocates descended on Washington, D.C. for the annual March for Life event. This event reminded me of something my mother said to me. “At least I didn’t ‘throw’ any of you away,” This she said to me when I was growing up and even as an adult. I heard these words countless times. What did she mean? She meant that she could have aborted me but didn’t. As a child, when she said it, again and again, I for one thought that I would have been better off being dead. Because I had little food to eat and was always hungry, I didn’t care if I had been aborted. In my hard circumstances, it might have been better from my limited thinking.
My mother had eight children; I was the second. I saw my mother pregnant six times. And each time a new baby was born, it meant less food and more suffering for me. I hated every time a new baby was born because I knew it meant one more mouth to feed and one more child will suffer. I dreaded the fact that I was born into this cruel world. I wished that my mother had several abortions to make it easier for the family. Editor, my mother had no husband and no supporter or provider. She was the lone breadwinner. She worked at a Chinese Restaurant, and many times she stole food to feed us. I don’t know how she did it. How was she able to provide for eight children on a ‘waitress’ salary?
What made my mother say those words? I believe it was part frustration and part pride, an essential deep-seated dignity. Because she was doing the best she could, and l wasn’t grateful. Editor, today, I am grateful that she didn’t abort me. If she had aborted me, I wouldn’t have been able to adopt two children, and I wouldn’t have been able to have three other children. If she had aborted me, I wouldn’t have had the chance to earn two degrees and have a dream career with the US military. If she had aborted me, I wouldn’t have had the chance to go to war in Iraq and Afghanistan and defend the United States.
If she had aborted me, I wouldn’t have had the chance to work as a volunteer. If she had aborted me, I wouldn’t have had the chance to counsel women who are contemplating having an abortion. If she had aborted me, I wouldn’t have had the chance to become a successful professional. If she had aborted me, I wouldn’t have had the chance to write this letter and tell my story. I thank you mother for not aborting me. Do I believe that my mother had too many children and that she couldn’t adequately care for them? Yes. Do I believe she should have had some aborted? No.
I would say to any woman thinking about having an abortion don’t do it. Someone said, “Life is not perfect, but each life is perfect.” Every year in the United States one million babies are killed by abortion, which is approximately twice the population of Guyana. “We must not be surprised when we hear of murders, of killings, of wars, of hatred. If a mother can kill her own child, what is left but for us to kill each other,” wrote Mother Theresa.
Editor, I still don’t understand how my mother did it but I am grateful that she didn’t abort me. Why she didn’t have an abortion? I could only say it must have been the love of a mother for her children. I now realise that God didn’t let my mother abort me for a reason. It wasn’t until I was older that I realised that my mother didn’t have an abortion because she loves me. My mother believed Mother Theresa when she said, “Abortion kills twice. It kills the body of the baby and it kills the conscience of the mother.”
Anthony Pantlitz

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